Every young basketball player dreams of playing college basketball. The numerous hours spent in front of the television during the spectacle that is "March Madness" leaves a lasting mark. They all have fantasized about taking that last second shot for North Carolina, Duke, UCLA, or Florida to win the game and put their team into the final four. However, there comes a point of realization for that young child, as he grows older and moves through his high school playing career, where he sets a goal to just reach the next level and play anywhere on the college level. For a few local high school seniors that goal is still as strong as ever, and for good reason. Still though very few colleges have come calling for their services. They put in the long extra hours in the gym working on their games. They stayed out of trouble and kept their grades where they needed to be. They became role models for their school and team's underclassmen. Still, no basketball scholarships are in hand. This is in part due to the lack of exposure Southwest Florida boy's basketball receives, and the lack of opportunities to play on major spring/summer travel teams whom make treks around the nation to play in front of all the major college coaches and scouts. The majority of major college basketball recruiting is done during the months of April through July at numerous youth travel tournaments around the country, and so for those student-athletes not able to find a home with a team visiting those tournaments, it can be tough to get seen by very many college programs. Sure, they still look for kids through the high schools, but usually only if they have heard about the kid in advance from someone else who has seen them. This is the case for a number of local SWFL basketball's top players.The list includes 6’4” guard Jean Louisme from Fort Myers High, 6’7” forward Arnold Louis from Hardee High, 6’6” forward Matty Baker from Barron Collier, 6’2” guard Kyle Petersen from Community School of Naples, 6’0” point guard David Westberryfrom Fort Myers High, 5’11” point guard Tavaris Edison from Dunbar, 6’6” forward Derrick Hawkins from Sarasota Booker High, 6'4" wing Tavarus Dennis from Desoto High, and 6’2” guard Kervens Calixte from Port Charlotte High. They all have one main thing in common. That is, that they have college level talent but have not yet gotten the interest to match. They are not expecting the Duke’s, North Carolina’s, or Florida’s to come banging down their doors, but all or most are at least good enough to get their college education paid for at lower level schools. Jean Louisme is one of the few who has had some interest shown from lower level schools thus far, mainly division two. However many respectable sources have said they think he could play at the lower division one level. His situation is much like the rest. None of the above listed players, with the exception of Kyle Petersen, played for major travel organizations and therefore were not given the opportunity to be seen by hundreds of college coaches at multiple levels. Petersen did however play for a very talented Nike Team Florida program, but saw his minutes slightly limited due to that talented roster. Louisme, Westberry, and Edison were all lucky enough to get the chance to play in the nationally renowned Bank of America City of Palms Classic this past season and all of them did their best to make what they could of the opportunity. However, outside of that very brief exposure, the SWFL area has not yet gotten the attention from college coaches or scouts for being a “hot bed” for basketball talent, so the only opportunity to get a college’s attention is for their high school head coach to work some overtime on their behalf. From sending game film and emails, to making phone calls, to basically trying to sell their respective school’s basketball stars like a used automobile on a car lot. They are all lucky enough to have a group of coaches though that are willing to put in that extra time and effort on their behalf, but for the most part, it has not yet paid off. There is however some good news, at least for the underclassmen. Things are looking up in terms of exposure for the SWFL basketball scene as a whole. In recent months, a few people have made some moves with the hope of open many college coaches and scouts eyes to what this area and the state of Florida as a whole have to offer in terms of basketball talent. One of these people is Eric Wallace of Hoop Mountain Florida Basketball. Just last August Eric moved to Florida, bringing with him the idea of starting a franchised version of the popular New England based Hoop Mountain Basketball here in the sunshine state. Hoop Mountain is nationally known for running some of the top exposure camps there is to offer, and Eric plans to bring that same reputation to Florida. He is based out of Sarasota, but will be working throughout the state hosting camps, tournaments, and other events along with putting together a scouting service covering only Florida that will draw subscriptions from hundreds of colleges nationwide. Another person making moves to better our basketball community is Bryan Crislip, head coach of Barron Collier High School. His team went 23-5 this past season and was on the verge of being a regional qualifier, but his work did not stop with his team’s last loss. Bryan has been working hard to put together a top-notch 17 and under travel team, which will make trips to top tournaments in and out of the state. He has had some help from Darrin Wallace of Gateway Charter School, two local youth organizations (Team Fort Myers and Naples Finest), and SWFL Hoops. We are determined to give some of the top local student-athletes the opportunity to play on a stage they have never played on before, in front of hundreds of college coaches, and in the process increase their own skills playing against the best competition the nation has to offer. These two young and motivated basketball minds combined with our efforts here at SWFLHoops.com and the community as a whole should push our area in the right direction. That way, the upcoming senior classes will not have the problem of dealing with lack of exposure, and will just need to worry about continuing to work hard and performing for their teams on the court, knowing the hard work will pay off in the end. Top Local Talent Still Looking for a College Home
Aaron Seybert
SWFLHoops.com
March 10, 2008
Site-specific editorial/photos ©2008 SWFLHoops.com. All rights reserved. This website is an unofficial and independently operated source of news and information not affiliated with any school or team. Terms and Conditions
